Carl Friedrich Gauss

Born in Brunswick in 1777, Carl Friedrich Gauss showed extraordinary mathematical talent at a very young age. He went on to become a German mathematician and scientist whose work reached across number theory, analysis, geometry, astronomy, physics, and surveying.

Gauss is especially remembered for his deep results in mathematics, including major advances in number theory and the method of least squares, as well as for practical scientific work in astronomy and geodesy. He spent much of his career in Göttingen, where he also served as director of the observatory.

His influence has lasted far beyond his lifetime: ideas, formulas, and even units of measurement bear his name, and his reputation as one of the most brilliant minds in science has only grown since his death in 1855.